Philips Hue starts requiring an account for the hue app

Philips Hue is a product line of smart lighting equipment by Signify. A change was announced in 2023, which requires users of the Hue app to create an account to control their smart lights.

Background

When these smart lights initially came to market, they were able to be controlled offline through local API's. This meant the smart lights could be used without uploading any data to Philips and without creating an account. Customers particularly liked this feature of the smart lights, as it does not come with the security concerns that other smart lights have by being fully connected to the internet. There is a dedicated Hue app which allows controlling the smart lights, which only required an account if you wanted to remotely control the lights using Philips cloud services. If users did not want to use those cloud services, they were free to use their own solutions, like Home Assistent. The smart lights themselves use the Zigbee protocol. They connect to a device called the bridge or hub, which can control the lights that you have installed.

Account requirement for the app introduced after product purchase

Existing users of the Hue app got a notification which said:

Hue accounts are designed to enhance your system's security. Starting soon, you'll need to be signed in.

It was unclear to customers why this requirement was introduced to enhance security. Setting up an account makes the lights controllable from home, so would that now be the new default? The notification raised the concern that the creation of an account would always connect the devices to the internet, making the system less secure overall. Further, when customers bought the product it was not a requirement to have an account for the app. That was a condition changed after the purchase of the product for existing customers. Making an account also requires providing an e-mail address.

Signify's response

In response to the backlash, there were a few changes in the planned policy changes. They do proceed with the requirement of an account, but do not make the creation of an account automatic consent to also share usage data, which was previously the case when the account was not required. Signify focuses on the benefits of having an account, as it will allow using multiple Hue bridges in the same home. Their reaction also mentions that users can remove internet connectivity once you’ve connected your account, which does not address the concern of needing an account in the first place.

Consumer response

As the app itself with the Hue hub requires an account, some customers have opted to use the smart lights with a different hub, as they do not agree with this requirement. This is possible because many other smart devices also use the same protocol, so there are compatible hubs for the Hue smart lights themselves.